Parthian Kingdom. Seleukia-on-the-Tigris mint. Billon tetradrachm. Vologases III (c.111-146 CE), dated Panemos 434 Seleucid Era (June 123 CE). Obverse: Bust of king left, wearing tiara and diadem, beta (officina mark?) behind. Reverse: King seated on throne facing left, Tyche standing before and handing him diadem; surrounded by 7-line Greek legend (partly off flan) "Basileos Basileon Arsakou Olagasou Dikaiou Epiphanous Philellenos" (Of King of Kings Arsakes Vologases, Just, Illustrious, Philhellene), year date 434 above and between King and Tyche, month date Panemou in bottom-most exergue (partly off flan). Sellwood 79.10. This coin: Pars Coins Bargain eSale 23, lot 48 (August 2, 2024). Vologases III reigned during an unsettled period of Parthian history, and very little is known for certain about him. A rival claimant to the throne, Osroes I (c.109-128) controlled much of Parthia for the greater part of Vologases' reign, and it was Osroes whose armies were defeated by Trajan and who was (temporarily) forced to abandon his capital. Another contender, Mithradates V (c.128- 147) also controlled parts of Parthia at the same time. The most common coins traditionally assigned to him, the Sellwood Type 78 drachms, have been reassigned by Assar to yet another ruler, Pakoros (78 to at least 110, possibly to 120). Fortunately, Vologases included his personal name on his tetradrachms (you can read the "olagasou" top-to-bottom on the second-to-rightmost line on the reverse on my specimen), making at least this identification secure. This type is known with five different letters (alpha through epsilon) behind the portrait, which seems consistent with the theory that they are officina marks. While not particularly high grade, this is a decent specimen, and the month is still readable, which is frequently not the case with Parthian tetradrachms. I always try to grab Parthian tetradrachms with month readable if I can get them at a good price, so even though I posted a very similar coin in March with just the date different, I still like this coin a lot. Please post your related coins.
